Medical examination gown



Dec. 15, 1964 s. E. M DONALD 3,160,891 7 MEDICAL EXAMINATION GOWN FiledJune 15. 1961 IN VEN TOR. FIG-6 GLADYS E.MACDONALD ATTORNEY.

'over back lap to .double side panels that may be parted at hips forthigh .and femur examination. 1

answer to many problems through the eyes 'of a registered nurse.

United States Patent Filed June 15, 1961, Ser. No. 117,333

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-69) The present invention relates to a medicalexamination gown or-cape. r

Heretofore, over the years very little has been done to improve uponexamination gowns for patients with the result that the patient isexposed unnecessarily and to a degreemuch greater than required for theparticular examination. The disadvantage of the old type of exam-:ination gown was the excessive or unnecessary exposure produceddiscomfort and tension, so that the patient was unrelaxed, unable toconcentrate as clearly as one might otherwise on symptoms to bediscussed.

- The Ethical Gown was designed by a registered nurse at the request ofpatients and to doctors specifications for thebenefit of all three, andto lend better patient-doctor diagnosis relationship. With less exposureand discomfort there is less tension leaving the patient relaxed andable to concentrate more clearly on symptoms.

It is an object of this invention to provide an examination gown whichconsists of four .sections plus one tie belt attached to the middleback. The garment is designed for self-multi-drape and cut to overlapbias. Back sections overlapped and joined from low V-neck to waistline,forming double panel from there, that may be parted at thevwaist andallow draping even for proctoscopic examination. By self-multi-drape ismeant an arrangement of overlapping panels so that with any number ofexaminations, such as proctoscopic, pelvic, chest, femur,

etc., the remainder of the anatomy stays draped or protectively covered.

It is another object to construct the gown'so that the sides are joinedfrom underneath larmholes to hips, front assure closure when sitting,leaving It is another object to provide a gown wherein the top slidesquickly and easily from over the shoulders permitting front and backexposures. With no sleeves, the arms are free for blood pressure tests.

It is another object to provide a gown wherein the front parts for easyabdominal examination and wherein the front panels are designed wideenough for ample pelvic drape.

It is another'object to provide for widerdrape, if desired as forobstetrical cases. The right front lower corner of the panel has a tabthrough which the left front lower corner may be'drawn, doubling thewidth of drape quickly. I

It is another object to eliminate the extra drape sheet and towel andprovide for less ironing, less handling, less labor, time and cost andprovide for only one garment andless overhead.

Itis another object to provide an examination gown wherein only oneportion of the user is exposed at a time, resulting in more conveniencefor the doctor and more dignity for the patient. v

It is another object to provide a gown which provides simplicity, beautyand neatness, with efficiency; and the Itis a further object of thepresent invention to provide a slightly different form of reversibleexamination gown which consists of three sections rather than foursections 1 j and wherein one section may be regarded as a front sec- 11and 14 may be regarded as front panels and and wherein the outer edgesof the rear'sections arejoined to outer edge portions of the frontsection and wherein further the inner edges of the rear sections arearranged in overlapped relationshipfland tied together. This sectionvariation is also designed to achieve each of the objects set forth andprimarilyprovision of a garment wherein any part of the anatomy may beeasily examined individually without complete exposure to the patient.

These and other objects will be seen from the following specificationand claim. in conjunction with the appended drawings in which;

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the present medical examinationgown with the panels assembled and arranged as they would for use.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view thereof with the panels opened up soas to lie in substantially single plane for inspection.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale showing one use of thegarmentfor examination purposes.

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are additional similar perspective views showing otherusages of a garment for examination purposes. 7 j n 1 FIG. 7 is a rearelevational view of a slightly different form of medical examinationgown with the sections or panels arranged in overlapped relation as itwould be used.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view thereof with the rear panels opened out soas to lie substantially in a single, plane with the front panel forinspection purposes.

FIGS. 9, 10, l1 and -l2-are perspective views on a re-v duced scaleillustrating various usages of an examination gown designed to permitexamination of portions of the body Without complete exposure thereof.

the present medical examination gown comprises what first and secondpair of.

is hereafter referred to as a panels, the pairs being regarded as thefirst pair, namely panels 11 and 12, and the second pair as panels 13and 14.

Furthermore, it is noted thatfrom the drawing, panels panels 12 and 13may be regarded as rear panels.

With respect to each pairs of panels, namely the pair 11-12 and the pair13-14, the panels at their upper ends for the patient and the doctor,

. are reduced as at 15, and means are provided, namely stitching bywhich the upper edge portions of the said panels are transversely joinedtogether, said stitching being shownat 16, FIG. 1. v

Accordingly, for each of the pair of panels defining the examinationgarment, there are provided shoulders.

The'front and rear panels of eachof'thesaid pairs of panels at theiradjacent inneredges are connected together by securing means such as thestitching 17 -which stitching extends downwardly throughout points intermediate the upper and loweredges of the. said panels as to points 18.

The adjacentedge portions of the respective-panels are there belowloselyoverlapped as at 21 to,- thusdefine the side portions of. the garmentandtothe extent of the v overlap are'thus double in protecting the userfrom un--1 necessary expos'ure.- I g The portions of the respectivepairs of and. i be} f of the present invention is achieved, namely theproduction of an Ethical Gown, which provides for less exposure anddiscomfort and tension for the patient, but which at the same time isfully effective in protecting the patient, yet permits easy and simpleexamination of the desired parts of the anatomy without full exposure tothe patient, and of course, such an examination gown may be used for anytype of body or pelvic examination, may be used on obstetrical cases,may be used for X-ray or for any other treatment purposes and representsa substantial improvement over what has been done before.

Having described my invention, reference should now be had to thefollowing claim.

I claim:

A medical examination gown comprising four similarly shaped flat cutpanels; each very narrow at its upper end and each having side edgesdiverging very considerably toward its lower end; the four panels beingidentified respectively as left front, left rear, right rear, rightfront;

with adjacent upper ends of the left panels being stitched to each otherand with the adjacent upper ends of the right panels being stitched toeach other, to provide shoulder straps;

with adjacent side edges of the left panels, and with adjacent sideedges of the rear panels, and with adjacent side edges of the rightpanels, respectively, being stitched to each other longitudinally forthe length of the approximately middle third only of such side edges, todefine two side stitchings and a rear center stitching, allapproximately waist high;

the width of the panels below such longitudinal stitchings being suchthat the widened lowermost parts of such panels overlap, with the frontpanels overlapping relative to each other when they are drawn togetherto enclose a human form inside the garment; and a tie belt extendingtransversely of the garment across all four panels and secured byadditional stitchings at the rear center stitching which secures therear panels together, such belt drawing the front panels together; withthe upper parts of the adjacent edges of the rear panels defining a rearV-neck, and the upper parts of the adjacent edges of the front panelsdefining a front V-neck when the garment is drawn closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSHampton Oct. 4, Cowen a Feb. 24, Cowen July 21, Whittingham Mar. 6,Kelleher May 3, Coven Oct. 31, Pietzman et a1. Dec. 5, Phelps Jan. 16,Miller June 12, Koren Mar. 6, De Witt Oct. 30, ODonnell J an. 7, LeviM--. June 16,

